BOOMscat at the WeDC showcase:

Go Cozy at the WeDC showcase:

RDGLDGRN at Monster Energy Outbreak House:

Tabi Bonney at the WeDC showcase:

Two Inch Astronaut at Stereogum/Exploding In Sound showcase at Hole In The Wall:

Young Rapids at the WeDC showcase:

All photos by Cassandra Mullinix

Tonight, the D.C. band opens the Radio One Holiday Jam with Grammy-winning vocalist Jill Scott, R&B group New Edition and songwriter/producer Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds. It’s the latest step in the band’s progression from small neighborhood venues to big stages.

Black Alley has steadily played local spots like Bar 7 and the shuttered Indulj, moving up to larger venues including Merriweather Post Pavilion and now, the nearly 20,000-capacity sports complex in downtown D.C.

“Verizon Center was on my bucket list, so for it to come this soon is amazing,” says Black Alley’s Josh “Josh on Bass” Hartzog.

It’s a major plus that headliner Jill Scott “is someone we all listened to growing up,” Hartzog says. “Just to be on the same stage as her is pretty dope.”

A hybrid of rock and R&B, Black Alley has never lay claim to one genre. But its heart is in go-go. The band appreciates that Scott is no stranger to D.C.’s homegrown sound: she brought go-go swing to “It’s Love,” a highlight on her 2000 debut album, and she recorded with go-go godfather Chuck Brown before his death in 2012.

Go-go has been on a slide in the D.C. region, with gentrification taking a toll on the scene and local law enforcement cracking down on venues that host the music. Black Alley pays homage to the genre inside its chameleonic tunes.

“We are lucky that we can cater to more crowds and slide go-go in,” says drummer Danny “Animal” Henderson.

For Black Alley, getting to the Holiday Jam has required a lot of diligence. They take it “one show at a time,” Henderson says.

Authenticity may have played a role, too, says lead singer Kacey Williams.

“I feel like if you are going to enter the music scene in D.C., you really have to be honest and do what you feel is right for you with the music, as opposed to doing what people expect,” Williams says. “Because I feel like D.C. fans — more than any other — can tell when you’re faking.”

Black Alley is currently working on a followup to its 2012 debut album, SOUL.SWAGGER.ROCK.SNEAKERS. It’s expected out before the end of the year.

Photo courtesy of Black Alley.

Via Austin Police

D.C. rapper Yung Gleesh, aka Asa Asuncion, turned himself in to authorities Tuesday after being charged with sexual assault in Austin, Texas.

Asuncion was sought on charges stemming from time he spent in Austin while playing the South by Southwest festival. An arrest affidavit says Asuncion allegedly assaulted an intoxicated woman after she passed out at a house where Asuncion had been staying during the festival.

A spokesperson for Austin police says the rapper turned himself in at the Travis County Jail Tuesday and was arrested. Austin’s KXAN-TV reports he posted bond and is no longer in custody.

Top photo: Screenshot from Yung Gleesh’s video for “Since When.”

An arrest affidavit says Asuncion, 25, allegedly assaulted a woman early in the morning of March 20 while she was passed out intoxicated at a home in North Central Austin. A friend of the woman told police she was sharing a futon with her after a long night of drinking, and she woke up to find Asuncion partially naked and on top of the woman, who was sleeping.

The woman awoke when her friend confronted the rapper, a verbal altercation ensued and Asuncion ran upstairs, the affidavit says. Both women left for St. David’s Medical Center in Austin, where they called police. By the time authorities got to the house, they say Asuncion had already fled on foot.

Asuncion traveled to Austin to perform during South by Southwest and had been staying at the house, where he met the alleged victim three days before, according to the affidavit.

Fader — one of the outlets that’s been tracking the rapper’s ascent online — reports that Asuncion has been dropped by his management following the alleged assault. KXAN-TV, which first reported on the charges, says the rapper didn’t show up to a scheduled performance later on and canceled a show in Dallas.

Austin Police declined an interview through a spokesperson, saying they are “actively looking” for the D.C. rapper and “don’t want to jeopardize the case.”

Local legends Rare Essence are scheduled to perform at the festival Tuesday, sharing a bill with other D.C.-area artists including Prinze George, Oddisee, Paperhaus, Black Alley, Kokayi and Asheru. The showcase is technically part of the Washington, DC Economic Partnership’s technology campaign during the festival, but Rare Essence is paying for the trip itself with a combination of private donations and money it raised at a recent fundraiser concert.

Bandleader Andre “Whiteboy” Johnson, the group’s only remaining original member, says Rare Essence has been looking to play SXSW for several years to meet with industry representatives and get its sound in front of new audiences.

“We’re trying to expand Rare Essence and go-go music beyond the beltway,” Johnson says.

Now nearly 40 years old, Rare Essence could seem like a strange fit for SXSW. It’s not a buzz band with a recent Soundcloud hit or a nationally known group hitting the summer festival circuit. It’s a treasured local band that’s been performing in clubs and gymnasiums across D.C., Maryland and Virginia for decades.

Rare Essence’s fans still call it the “wickedest band alive.” They’ve seen the group through peaks — like the success of singles “Body Moves,” “Lock It” and “Work the Walls” — and tragedy, namely the deaths of trumpeter Anthony “Lil Benny” Harley and drummer Quentin “Footz” Davidson.

But like most go-go bands, Rare Essence hasn’t built a strong national following. It hasn’t had a hit outside the D.C. region for years.

Johnson says his band wants to play SXSW, in part, to change that. He says the best way to market a band like his is to perform live. That’s how go-go music must be heard.

“People like live music, and that’s the main ingredient to go-go,” Johnson says.

There’s a good chance Tuesday’s District music showcase in Austin will attract an audience that’s more D.C.-aware than the rest of the SXSW crowd, but still, Johnson says it could be a challenging performance. Rare Essence shows attract familiar faces. Band members used to do shout-outs by reading the name and neighborhood of fans from a card. Now, Johnson says, the band knows most of the shout-outs by heart. They can’t expect that level of local love in Austin.

During SXSW, Rare Essence will probably play the same songs it performs in D.C., Johnson says, but the shorter set time means the group probably won’t break into extended jam sessions like it regularly does at home — unless the audience demands it.

“We’ve been in situations where people would walk in and not know what this is and stand around for the first couple of songs,” Johnson says, “but by the end of the set, they’re into it like everyone else.”

SXSW isn’t Rare Essence’s only attempt to define itself for new audiences: The band’s trip to Texas coincides with the release of its first batch of new songs in more than a decade. Johnson says the new release contains some of the band’s best music ever. Perhaps a few business meetings and a good performance will yield more concert dates outside the D.C. region and new ears for its fresh material.

Though scholars and music journalists have already declared go-go a strictly local phenomenon, Johnson suggests maybe they’re wrong. Maybe go-go just hasn’t broken out of D.C. yet.

“The reason for us even going to South By Southwest is for us to expand Rare Essence and go-go as much as we can try to get to that next level,” Johnson says.

Still, we started out with far more to choose from. It took an enormous amount of effort to get here: Thousands of acts play SXSW each year, enough that winnowing them down to 100 required months of seeking, listening, culling and decision-making. What remains are some of SXSW 2015’s most thrilling discoveries and highlights.

In addition to this list, we’ve also got a full, interactive multimedia experience — not to mention a way to stream these songs all the way through SXSW 2016. And, as always, visit NPR.org/SXSW for live concerts, photos, videos and dispatches from this year’s festival.

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The Austin 100 Playlist

A. Sinclair, “Shiny Things”

Alvvays, “Archie, Marry Me”

Amason, “Älgen”

Amber London, “Strikkly 4 My Sippaz Freestyle”

Andrew Combs, “Foolin'”

Bell Gardens, “Darker Side Of Sunshine”

Big Phony, “I Love Lucy”

Boogie, “Bitter Raps (prod. DK The Punisher)”

Chancha Via Circuito, “Jardines (feat. Lido Pimienta)”

Charlie Belle, “Get To Know”

Chastity Belt, “Time To Go Home”

Cheerleader, “Perfect Vision”

Cold Mailman, “Moments”

Colony House, “Silhouettes”

Count This Penny, “Shoebox Scene”

Courtney Barnett, “Pedestrian At Best”

Donovan Wolfington, “Keef Ripper”

Doomtree, “Gray Duck”

Doug Seegers, “Going Down To The River”

Emmy The Great, “Swimming Pool”

The Family Crest, “Beneath The Brine”

Fantastic Negrito, “An Honest Man”

Fatherson, “I Like Not Knowing”

Field Mouse, “Everyone But You”

Fort Romeau, “Insides”

Gabi, “Fleece”

Genevieve, “Colors”

Geographer, “I’m Ready”

Girl Band, “Lawman”

Girlpool, “Blah Blah Blah”

Hanne Kolstø, “We Don’t See Ourselves”

Happyness, “Anything I Do Is All Right”

Hinds, “Bamboo”

Homeboy Sandman, “Rain”

Houndmouth, “Sedona”

Howard, “Falling”

Ibeyi, “Ghosts”

Irene Diaz, “Crazy Love”

Joan Shelley, “First Of August”

Josh Berwanger Band, “I Want You Bad”

Jukebox The Ghost, “The Great Unknown”

Kaleo, “All The Pretty Girls”

Kali Uchis, “Ridin Round”

Kate Tempest, “The Beigeness”

Kevin Devine & The Goddamn Band, “Bubblegum”

Knox Hamilton, “Work It Out”

Kristin Diable, “Time Will Wait”

La Luz, “Pink Slime”

Lapalux, “Closure (feat. Szjerdene)”

The Last Year, “Mania”

The Lees Of Memory, “We Are Siamese”

Little Simz, “Devour”

Liza Anne, “Room”

Lowell, “I Love You Money”

Luluc, “Small Window”

Madisen Ward And The Mama Bear, “Silent Movies”

Makthaverskan, “Witness”

Mantar, “Spit”

Max Capote, “Sin Mentirte (feat. Sie7e)”

Meg Mac, “Roll Up Your Sleeves”

Meishi Smile, “Blank Ocean”

METZ, “Acetate”

Mitski, “Townie”

Moon Honey, “The Cathedral”

Moving Panoramas, “Radar”

The Octopus Project, “Whitby”

ODESZA, “Say My Name (feat. Zyra)”

Pity Sex, “Acid Reflex”

Qarabagh Ensemble, “Isterem Seni”

Quiet Company, “Understand The Problem”

San Fermin, “Jackrabbit”

Scotty ATL, “Cloud IX (Go Up!) [prod. DJ Toomp]”

Screaming Females, “Ripe”

Shamir, “On The Regular”

Sheer Mag, “What You Want”

Skylar Spence, “Fiona Coyne”

SOAK, “B a noBody”

Spring King, “City”

Strawberry Runners, “Hatcher Creek”

Summer Cannibals, “Something New”

Summer Heart, “Thinkin Of U”

Sunflower Bean, “Tame Impala”

Sunny Sweeney, “Second Guessing”

Tanya Tagaq, “Uja”

THEESatisfaction, “EarthEE (feat. Shabazz Palaces, Porter Ray & Erik Blood)”

Title Fight, “Liars Love”

Torres, “Strange Hellos”

Tuxedo, “Number One”

Twerps, “Back To You”

Twin Shadow, “Turn Me Up”

Venomous Maximus, “Give Up The Witch”

Vérité, “Strange Enough”

Weyes Blood, “Some Winters”

Whiskey Shivers, “Free”

White Reaper, “Cool”

Wild Party, “OutRight”

Wilsen, “Go Try”

XETAS, “The Point”

Young Buffalo, “Sykia”

Your Old Droog, “Bad To The Bone (Remix)”

Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

Last Thursday, local guitar virtuoso Mary Timony said those words to a full house at The Parish, a 450-capacity venue in the heart of downtown Austin. But Timony’s band is one of a diminishing number of D.C.-based acts that played the city’s annual South by Southwest music conference and festival this year.

Even a few years ago, it seemed like far more local acts made the pilgrimage to SXSW—regardless of whether they had been signed to a large independent label like Merge Records, which Ex Hex recently did. Sure, D.C. acts including experimental pop workhorses Deleted Scenes, ethereal duo GEMS and increasingly in-demand rapper Shy Glizzy played official showcases this year, but the appeal of the festival seems to have declined—or at least evolved—for many local musicians.

In 1987, SXSW started out as a relatively small affair that put on new indie-rock acts. It hasn’t been a small festival for quite a while now, though—and its size alone is enough to turn off D.C. punk band Priests, which has never been to the festival, and doesn’t plan to ever go.

“We don’t want to be one of the marbles in the bag,” says Priests vocalist Katie Alice Greer. She says the crowds at SXSW are so overstimulated, attendees probably wouldn’t take much from a Priests set anyway, no matter how energetic it was.

Priests drummer Daniele Yandel questions the fest’s marathon mentality. “How can you play five good sets in a day? I don’t know how that’s humanly possible.”

Meanwhile, Alex Tebeleff of psych-rock outfit Paperhaus—which, along with Priests, is one of D.C.’s hardest-touring rock bands—has a more practical concern. “Where the [hell] do you park your van?”

Tebeleff went down to the festival as a spectator in 2011, but lengthy Paperhaus tours in intervening years have dimmed his view of SXSW. “I think a couple of years ago, I would have been ignorant enough to not realize that I shouldn’t go,” he says. “Now I know enough about the realities of what playing music is like, and there’s no question, it’s absolutely not financially worth it unless we have a record that’s new, that’s ready to promote that we’re pushing. It’s just not worth it.”

Dreamy post-rock shredders Drop Electric did release an album last fall, but without being accepted into an official SXSW showcase, opted not to go this time. Member Ramtin Arablouei says that the group didn’t have a good experience at New York convention and music festival CMJ, and he expects that SXSW might share some of the same drawbacks.

“My personal feeling from a distance is that SXSW really caters more towards providing a fun experience for audience members. For almost no money you can walk around and see thousands of bands,” Arablouei says. “I find it to be a bit exploitative. Artists go there hoping they get lucky and be seen by the ‘right people.’ They pay money to apply to get into the festival. Meanwhile, someone is getting pretty rich collecting sponsorships and money from artists. Seems backwards to me.”

Priests also balks at the idea of bands at SXSW getting wrapped up in the festival’s heightening commercialism. “I love Doritos, but I don’t want to play inside of a giant Dorito vending machine next to an inflatable Dorito,” says Priests bassist Taylor Mulitz.

Heavy hitting power-pop band Typefighter releases its debut LP, The End of Everything, on April 22. Even with an LP to promote, though, the SXSW veterans don’t think hitting Austin would have been worthwhile.

“If you go there the wrong way, it can just defeat you,” says Typefighter’s Ryan McLaughlin, who has been to SXSW three times. “It’s a ton of fun and whatever, but unless you scheme it out and have a strategy of some sort, then it is just a giant party. And we can party here.”

Another SXSW veteran, May Tabol of D.C. band Pree, agrees that a SXSW strategy is key. “Timing is everything. We’d just wrapped up an album two weeks prior to the festival and are currently working on music videos, so it didn’t make sense for us to head down there mid-project,” she says. “The festival is oriented toward innovative music, so best to go when you’ve got something ready to share. Otherwise you’re adding to the noise and not the dialogue.”

Tabol still says that she would return “in a heartbeat” to Austin, though. So does Shark Week bassist Danielle Vu, who speaks glowingly about Shark Week’s experience as an official SXSW act in 2013. “Everyone there is in a great mood,” Vu says, “and the energy from fellow concertgoers is infectious and energizing.”

Maybe the secret to enjoying SXSW as a performer is to chill out. “If you’re able to drop the expectations and urgency of ambition for a few days, you can’t help but have a good time,” Tabol says. “It gives bands a perspective that they may not have gained otherwise, helping them to grasp the jaw-dropping tidal wave of bands out there [and] where one’s own band fits into the larger picture.”